Travel Photos with the Yi Action Camera

Before our much awaited summer trip, I was fortunate enough to get this little guy to road test. Don’t be fooled by its pint size, it’s actually a camera. It’s China’s version of the GoPro, the XiaomiYi Action Camera.

It’s small, it’s lightweight, it can fit in the palm of my hand, it can fit in the pocket of my pants. It does not have a viewfinder, only buttons, 3 buttons in fact – one to turn it on and off (or toggle photo and video), another one to press the shutter, and another to turn on/off the WiFi. Super simple, huh?

It pairs with your smartphone through an app, which can be downloaded here. Through it, you can see what the camera sees, press the shutter, toggle between video and stills, alter photo quality, and tinker with other camera settings.

It has a Micro SD slot, a USB, and an HDMI port. It also came with a handheld monopod, perfect for taking selfies!

These are some of the photos from our trip taken with the Yi Action Camera. Note that some photos have been cropped and colour corrected.

View from 30,000 feet above the groundIn a crowded train in Japan.Inside Kidzania, JapanStatue of Liberty in JapanLots of people about to enter Tokyo DisneylandDisneyland at NightTokyo Disney SeaTokyo Disney SeaTokyo Disney SeaMermaid’s Lagoon at Tokyo Disney SeaHilton Bay Tokyo Hotel ElevatorsVoyager of the SeasVoyager of the SeasVoyager of the SeasLa Scala Theater inside Voyager of the SeasSapporo: Samurai Village. The wide angle lens of the Yi is so perfect in capturing the whole tranquil scene of this place!Sapporo: Samurai VillageSapporo: Noboribetsu Hell ValleyToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RouteToyama: Tateyama Alpine RoutePerfect for groupies (group selfies). Everyone gets included because of its wide angle lens.Just don’t put it too close to the subject or you’d get a distorted look like this one.Kids Having Fun at the Golf CourseFlowRider inside Voyager of the SeasGreat Wall of ChinaA hole in the Wall – Great Wall of ChinaPeek-a-boo! Great Wall of ChinaI have a thing for clouds. 🙂An aerial view of the metroSome more cloudsWelcome Back!

What I Love about the Yi:

155 Degree Wide Angle Lens captures the whole breathtaking view!

Compact and lightweight

Good photo quality under bright light

Easy to Use

Very affordable relative to the GoPro (around P6K/$100+ vs P15K/$300+)

16MP, 1080P, 60FPS

But…

Connecting to my smartphone usually takes more than one try

I wish there was a shutter button on the monopod

Photo quality degrades when scene gets dark

Despite the buts, I’m still happy that I was able to try the Yi Action Camera for our trip. I have yet to try taking real action videos with it though. That would mean getting some accessories for it.

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22 thoughts on “Travel Photos with the Yi Action Camera”

Wowww! Great photos! And very interesting gadget.. I guess photography skills and a hi-tech cam like this really could go hand-in-hand! And it’s more than half the price of the real thing! Where can we buy it?

What a nice gadget! So cute (coz of its cute size) and compact. The photos under natural light are great. However the indoor shots and the darker photos are a little grainy, but hey, good thing there’s photoshop. 🙂Rhoda Fajardo recently posted…Three In Design: WTF is The Rule of Three?